Kandra
Kandra was an advanced civilization of potent magic users that existed roughly 4000 years prior to the four kingdoms. Due to the cataclysmic events that wiped out this civilization, aside from a few powerful artifacts and ruins in Zhon, the four kingdoms have little knowledge of it. Lore The kandran race was as ancient as Darien itself and their stern, but benign rule included the most distant corners of their Kingdom. That rule was special in one regard - it was not maintained by cumbersome bureaucracy, allpresent network of spies and military garrisons in every town or village. The kingdom of Kandra drew it's strength from the kandran ability to manipulate mana, a form of magic. The kandrans were veritable masters of magic - eve the most mundane kandran had the ability to do simple things as to turn water into vine or remove the warts from one's body. On the other hand, the most potent magic users were the five wizards, who's power was said to be so great that they could destroy the world, this power stemmed in part from an enigmatic artifact, known as Heart of Thesh . Fortunatley, the five wizards were as wise as they were powerful and they knew almost immediately if someone broke their creed - the Law of life, which forbade any use of magic which could upset the natural order of things and cause untold calamity. The kandran wizards practiced their craft at certain places which amplifyed the strengh t of magic. These places could be easily found as they were encircled by huge megaliths. When mana was used with particular fierceness and frequency, a rare mineral - known as mogrite would form, which would grant great power and immortality. The kandrans quickly recognized the value of mogrite. The only five pieces of mogrite ever found were crafted into jewels and inserted into specific items, called the five heirlooms: the glove, the scepter, the pendant, the ring and the throne. The four heirlooms represented the four elements - fire, water, earth and air, whilst the fifth represented the unity of those four into the one - the world. The five heirlooms were entrusted to the five wizards for safekeeping, they would each keep one for a year and then exchange the heirlooms among themselves. The kandrans thought that by leaving the mogrites in the hands of five wizards, they would attain peace and security, they were wrong. As time passed the five wizards realized that possessing a mogrite meant more than just amplified magical abilities. Mogrite gave it's wearer immunity against diseases and almost instantaneous vound regeneration and incredible longevity. It also became evident that the heirlooms were not all of equal might. The Eye of Modron stood out as it granted it's owner (or guardian) immortality. The unifying principle of the five wizards was equality, now the wizard with the Eye of Modron was the happiest of them all. Moreover, the newfound longevity of the wizards was not well received by the rest of kandrans. An avarage kandran lifespan was a little ove a hundred years, but when two generations of kandrans came and went, and the same wizards were still in possession of the heirlooms, suspicions and questions became more and more frequent. The loudest and the most dissapointed were the five acolytes who were chosen to replace the current wizards. The training regimen for a new wizard lasted for thirty-six years and was harsh to say the least. A generation of acolytes had already passed away without ever using their hard earned knowledge. Dissent towards the five wizards was becoming more and more open and voiced, something unheard of in kandran history. In time, the five wizards became more interested in fighting and scheming against one another, than in performing their duties. They each had their favourite heirloom, the Eye of Modron in the Throne of Ludd. The final cataclysm came without warning, it is unknown who or what caused the catastrophic collapse of the Kandran kingdom. Was it a wizard in a ferocious attempt to attain absolute power, or was it the work of a disenfranchised acolyte? That will never be known. The calamity itself was utterly horrifying. All the natural laws were overturned, farm animals bloated and exploded as their vital juices turned to vapour, people died horrible deaths, their bones snapping as their bodies twisted in impossible angles, their heads collapsing in on themselves like overripe grapes. In the kandran capital, the enormous beluse trees along the avenues dried up and collapsed on the streets releasing steaming resin. Seas and lakes were boiling, rivers became dry canyons, and mountains crumbled into rocky plains, and a final earthquake rocked Darien from one end to the other, splitting the con tinents that will become Aramon and Zhon . An eerie silence fell across the land and a rain of blood started f alling, lasting for three days and nights. Artifacts The kandran civilization produced a number of powerful artifacts which survived the collapse of their civilization, they are: The Heart of Thesh (used to summon the legendary golden dragon of Anu) The Throne of Ludd (containing the mogrite jewel- Eye of Modron) The pendant (containing the mogrite jewel - Stone of Darien) The glove (containing the mogrite jewel - Soul of Darien) The scepter (containing the mogrite jewel- Angvir's flame) The ring (containing the mogrite jewel- Macha's tear) The five heirlooms were eventually discovered by Garacaius in one of his expeditions to Zhon, and entrusted to his schildren: Elsin , Kirenna, Thirsha and Lokken. In game The Kandran kingdom is mostly referenced in cutscenes if at all. Also their ruins exist on some Zhon maps. Gallery Kingdoms 2014-09-12 15-20-24-94.jpg|Ruined temple. Kingdoms 2014-09-12 15-20-37-94.jpg|Derelict structure. Kingdoms 2014-09-12 15-21-03-63.jpg|Kandran tomb. Estoril.png|Ancient kandran ruins on Irgion,